When Will Young won Pop Idol it proved that the general public shouldn't
always be given the freedom to make their own choices. Despite the fact
that I would fight on the streets for the right to free speech and a true
democracy, when it comes to pop music the public shouldn't be involved
until they dig in their pockets and hand the cash over. The cold hard facts
are that Will Young simply doesn't have enough character to outlast the
average life span of a TV Talent Show Contest. Take away the fact that
he has a truly unique voice in Planet Pop 2002 and what is left to retain
your interest? He's lived an average middle / upper class upbringing throughout
his formative years and then went on to study politics at University. Nothing
more than that with the exception that he happens to be an openly gay pop
star, but doesn't like to campaign about it despite the fact that he studied
politics. So essentially what the general public voted for was a Educated
Political Pop Idol who doesn't like pop music and has no opinion on issues
that affect him on a daily basis....and to think we gave you kids the vote
as well!!!

Still despite whether you like Will or not, on paper the album "From
Now On" has all the ingredients to make a fantastic record. With Cathy
"Can't Get You Outta My Head" Dennis, Guy "Robbie Williams" Chambers and
Burt Bacharach lining up to write songs for Will maybe they're seeing something
that I don't. Much of the album veers towards Young's love of Easy listening
and soul music which either immediately alienates you on the basis that
you're too young to understand it or that you're old enough to better.
While Young has a unique voice in 2002 it's not a million miles away from
fellow white soul singer Mick Hucknall and when you listen to the passion
of early soul records it can only pail in comparison. To his credit he
does actually have a creative input, co-writing five of the thirteen songs
on the album, but when you actually take time to listen to the lyrics such
as "girl haven't you been around me long enough to know" on "Cruel To Be
Kind" you realize he truly does mean it when he say's he's not going to
campaign. How much self respect must Will have for himself to get on stage
and sing love songs to an imaginary girl when every single of the member
knows he should be singing it to the man of his dreams. It sounds like
a small point, but when Gareth and Will duet on the Beatles ""The Long
And Winding Road" there's a sincerity and honesty in Gareth's voice whereas
when Will opens his mouth the only emotional reaction great singer.

By this time next year, Young will have released his second album to
a universal panning and he will retire from the media spotlight. The worst
thing is that while it will be no great loss for planet pop as a whole
(we will still have the true Pop Idol Gareth after all), Will is that lacking
in passion for the music industry then when his time is up he will simply
go back to his country lifestyle without a care in the world. There will
be no desperate struggles where Will desperately tries to regain public
favour. It will simply be bye bye Will and for that alone he shouldn't
even have got into the industry in the first place.